Auric had finally arrived at the Exchange Center. Unlike the Training Hall, the Exchange Center had only a single building.
It was a round building with at least ten floors inside it, so there might be a lot to explore.
This Exchange Center seemed to be quite popular among students, as he could see many students going in and out.
Auric immediately entered the building, which turned out to be similar to a shopping mall. On the first floor, there were various counters. On the left side, he could see a large screen that listed missions. On the right side, he could see lists for trades.
Before he got a full look at the building, a female voice greeted him. "Hello. This is the first time I've seen you here. Are you a new student?"
Auric turned to her. She had long brown hair and wore a rather formal outfit.
She was slightly startled when she first saw Auric's face. "Ah. You must be the rumored Auric."
"Hello." Auric nodded to her.
"Since this is your first time coming here, how about I guide you? You only have to pay me for 5… no, 3 points." She smiled.
Auric thought it would be nice to have a guide just like Ran. And since the points were no longer important to him, he accepted the offer. "Sure. How do I pay?"
"For a new student, you need to register yourself first. Please follow me." She extended her hand politely. "Ah. I almost forgot. It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Ria. I'm also a student, just one year above you."
"Hello, Senior." Auric smiled.
Seeing how polite Auric was made her think she had hit the jackpot.
They reached an empty counter. Ria immediately sat down in front of the computer and asked, "May I borrow your student ID and your phone?"
"Sure." Auric handed over the items she wanted.
It only took her two minutes to finish registering him and hand them back. "It's done. If you look at your phone, there is a new app that you can use on campus. You can think of it as a banking app. But this app also allows you to chat, read campus news, and do other useful things."
"I see." Auric nodded and opened the application, checking everything she mentioned briefly.
"This is my code. Please scan it with your phone." Ria showed her phone.
Auric scanned it and confirmed the amount before sending the payment. "And done."
"Thank you very much." Ria nodded. "Let me guide you around. There are a total of ten floors in the Exchange Center. The first floor is for all kinds of missions or trades."
"I can see that. Do the missions come from the campus?"
"Not all. Students are allowed to create missions as well."
"That's rather convenient. Can I, like… post a mission to get materials or something?"
"You can. But there is no guarantee that it will be accepted, so please understand that."
"Fair point." Auric turned to the opposite side. "Then, how about the trades?"
"The trades listed there come from the academy. You can exchange your points for things the academy provides."
"I heard the Exchange Center allows students to sell services like evolution?"
"Of course. That is on the second floor. All the lists are on the second floor. The third floor onward is a place to showcase every item on the list. You can view the weapons, armor, and other things directly."
"That's useful." Auric contemplated. 'Since I'm planning to hunt some beasts, I might not need a weapon, but I definitely need armor, right?'
"Having additional protection will definitely make you safer. Do you have any armor in mind?" Lindwurm asked.
'Not really. Maybe one that is not so stiff? I want to move around normally. I have a big advantage, so I'm planning to base my fighting style around my element.'
Lindwurm nodded in agreement. "Then there is no need for me to say anything more."
Auric asked, "Senior. I would like to look around first. Maybe I'll head up after that?"
"Of course." Ria smiled.
Ria guided him around.
"The missions… How do you even post one?" Auric asked.
"It's pretty simple. Open your app or head here directly to find someone like me to assist you. Then, fill in the description of the mission as detailed as possible and set the reward. There will be a supervisor who will determine whether the reward is suitable or not. If it's not suitable, you have to either adjust the reward or cancel the mission altogether."
Auric finally figured out the value of his points.
He definitely possessed a substantial amount of points. Most of the missions he could see offered a reward ranging from 50 to 100 points.
They most likely required you to go with someone else or even in a group. This would reduce the reward even further. If an individual wanted to get 500 points, they would probably have to take on 15 to 20 missions.
When he reached the second floor, he figured out the exchange rate of points.
[Exchange 1:1,000.]
'That's quite expensive.' Auric muttered inwardly. He had 500 points, so it was equal to 500 thousand credits outside the academy.
Wealthy kids could exchange their points quickly, but for those who were less fortunate, they could earn money this way.
Then again, if he thought about it, having a guide actually cost him three thousand credits. Seven guides would allow someone to pay for their evolution fees.
He also saw several evolution services. They were offering prices between 25 and 50 credits. It was a reasonable price, but Auric wasn't really interested in it.
"Does anyone post a request to an evolution master?" Auric asked. "From what I can see, only evolution masters are offering their services."
"From time to time, there are indeed such requests. Most of the time, they are quite desperate because of the difficulty of their case and they don't have enough money to pay."
"I see." Auric nodded in understanding. That might be interesting. If he could take on requests from people with extreme element variants, he could help them in exchange for studying their element or even taking a look at their battle techniques.
"But people with enough money can simply go directly to the Evolution Association to get help," added Ria.
"True." Auric chuckled. He benefited from it as well, since many students or their relatives had flooded his shop. "I have seen enough. Let's go up, shall we?"
"Sure. What kind of equipment are you looking for?"
"I am thinking about equipment that allows me to move freely."
"If that's the case, the armor will provide less protection. Is that good enough for you?"
"Yes. I'm just looking for additional protection."
"How about the armor type?"
"Let's see. I don't have anything on me right now, so why don't you recommend something to me, Senior? I focus on my element, so I plan to defeat my enemies before they can even reach me."
Ria understood what he meant by extra protection. His desired fighting style required him to wear no armor, but beasts were bound to reach him in one way or another.
"In that case, I recommend that you use leather armor, gloves, and boots. Gloves and boots are necessary if you plan to go outside because you might touch something dangerous."
"Sure."
"This way." Ria brought him to the fourth floor and presented a vest. "This is a combination of a bulletproof vest and Wood Snake skin. It is strong, light, and resistant to heat. It won't hinder your movement much while providing the extra protection that you want."
Auric knew that even though the resources for modern equipment or weapons were scarce after the beasts occupied 90% of human land, the technology wasn't completely lost.
A lot of people still used guns, but they compensated for the lack of modern bullets by forming bullets with magical energy. The lack of materials for equipment like the one in front of him was solved by combining materials with a beast's skin.
So, Auric knew this vest was suitable for him.
He looked down to check the price.
[Wood Snake Vest]
[Price: 120 points.]
[Description: Bulletproof vest combined with Rank 2 beast (Wood Snake) skin.]
'Rank 2 beast…' Auric squinted his eyes.
Lindwurm explained, "Humans love to sound cool, so they name the form of their avatar individually. Meanwhile, they categorize beasts with simple ranks. Rank 1 beasts are equal to avatars in their baby form. Rank 2 means it can withstand an attack from an avatar in its juvenile form."
'I know. Since we're not going very far, I guess this one will be good enough.' Auric took out his phone. "I will buy this one."
Ria's eyes lit up. She thought Auric was a new student, so she thought Auric wanted to walk around and check the equipment he should be aiming for, not buying it immediately.
He had registered just a few minutes ago, yet he had enough points to buy something so expensive.
Ria immediately smiled. "Of course. Let me process the payment for you."
Ria was surprised, but more importantly, she was thrilled. There would be a commission for her.
Auric didn't say anything, fully aware that she recommended something not purely out of goodwill but because she had been entrusted with the equipment by someone. She would probably earn a fraction of the price.
Nevertheless, she suggested something useful, so he didn't plan to cheat her for a mere few points.
"All right. Let's check the gloves and the boots."
Ria was even more surprised. 'How come he has so many points even though he has just registered today? He hasn't even bought any points with real money. So, how come his account has so many points already?'
Her mind was blown away by this unexpected student. Auric's fame had spread because of his fight against Simon. Still, she couldn't imagine what Auric had done to obtain that many points.
'Don't tell me he has another source of points as an evolution master? I'd heard that his store was crowded on weekends. Were they paying him with points? They could just transfer the points by knowing his ID.
'Evolution master is scary… too scary.' Ria felt her heart tighten, imagining the financial power that an evolution master could possess.
In the end, Auric bought a pair of gloves and boots, spending a total of 323 points at the Exchange Center.
After subtracting the amount used to power up the gravity room, he still had 157 points left. It was a lot for someone who didn't care much about them.
"Would you like the equipment to be delivered to your dorm, or would you like to bring it back with you?" Ria asked.
Auric thought for a moment. He didn't forget Professor Vienna's advice, so he planned to head to the Evolution Association to register as a wind element evolution master after this.
He looked at the clock. If he waited for them to pack everything up, he might end up being too late for the meeting.
He hadn't told his mother that he planned to go outside to fight some beasts, so there was only one option left for him.
Auric nodded. "Can you deliver it to my place?"
"Sure. What is your dorm number?"
"White Villa No. 7."
"White Villa… Eh?" Ria's jaw dropped. 'Those villas are reserved for professors. The principal has the first one, and all five deans occupy No. 2 to No. 6. Then, No. 7 is…'
Ria realized who was backing Auric. 'A vice dean who is said to have power equal to our principal? Vice Dean Maya? There's a rumor about her being demoted to this place, and since she doesn't intend to teach seriously, she was granted the position of a vice dean rather than a dean.'
"Is there something wrong?" Auric tilted his head in confusion.
"N-No! The items will be delivered to your villa tonight."
"Thank you." Auric nodded, satisfied.
"Thank you for your patronage." She politely bowed to him.
Auric waved his hand and left the Exchange Center. Just when he thought he could head to the Evolution Association without any problem, he saw a group of people coming to the Exchange Center.
If it were a normal group, he could casually pass them by. But he noticed that one person had recognized him and pointed at him while speaking to the leader-like figure in the group.